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Raising his eyes, he saw the large, unnatural black cloud slowly descending over the square. Aiming one staff at the wizards in front of him and the other to the sky, he fired green blasts of power at both. The sizzling energy struck the shield erected by the eight wizards to the north. The assault continued long enough that they ignored the cloud above them.

Farrell used the diversion to pick off two of the weaker wizards before they could reinforce their shields. Getting the attention of the surviving wizards, he braced for the onslaught he knew would follow. “Get ready.”

Wizard fire struck him on three sides, mildly surprising him with its strength. “Desperate men are dangerous men,” Sanduval used to say. But Farrell had taken no chances, and his shields easily repelled the attacks.

“Let’s go,” he told Miceral, launching a new attack on the Chamdon ahead of them. As Farrell hoped, a new shield quickly appeared to protect these troops. The energy from his attack hit the shield, covering it in a wall of bluish fire. Using the energy of his enemy’s shield, Farrell trapped the Chamdon inside. Left alone, the fire would burn itself out, but Meglar’s wizards tried to bring it down, stoking the flames.

With their closest adversaries effectively walled off, Farrell followed Miceral north. As he hoped, between the trapped Chamdon and their movement, no one paid attention to the dark cloud he’d slowly been feeding energy to. Watching his opponents, Farrell sent a command to his spell the moment Zargon’s wizards turned their magic on him.

Flashes of different-colored lightning sizzled the air, leaving a burnt odor as they targeted only wizards. The first strikes would be the strongest, so Farrell waited to see their effect before attacking the wizards himself. Despite leaving his flank exposed, Farrell decided he’d focus his attacks on those barring their way.

Of the wizards in front of him, one turned into a charred corpse, her personal shield too weak to displace the amount of raw power directed against it. Two others got singed but lived only seconds more. Farrell targeted these two, firing a succession of fiery energy balls that swept away the remains of their shields. Unprotected, they were hurled back several yards by the force of the attack.

Wizards in the other companies died as well, but Farrell couldn’t spare the attention to find out how many. With fewer targets, the next round of lightning proved almost as powerful as the first. One of the four wizards between them and their escape route screamed in agony as lightning caused thousands of tiny tendrils to arch between his shield and his body. When the shield failed, the burned, smoldering body hit the ground, kicking up dust.

His cloud had one, less powerful round of strikes left. He held it in reserve, letting the cloud replenish some of its power before he used it again. The remaining wizards drew closer, erecting a powerful shield Farrell doubted the lightning could penetrate.

Maintaining that new shield meant their enemy couldn’t spare the power to launch a meaningful attack. A standoff suited his purpose, so Farrell sent token attacks to encourage them to focus on protecting themselves.

“Farrell! To your left!” Miceral’s desperate voice made him turn just in time to see two Chamdon charging him with swords raised.

Title: The Last Grand Master

Author: Andrew Q. Gordon

Genre: Scifi / Fantasy

In a war that shook the earth, the six gods of Nendor defeated their brother Neldin, God of Evil. For three thousand years, Nendor and the Seven Kingdoms have known peace and prosperity and Neldin’s evil was nearly forgotten.

But then Meglar, wizard-king of Zargon, unleashes the dark magic of the underworld and creates an army of creatures to carry out his master’s will. One by one, the sovereign realms fall as a new war between the gods threatens to engulf Nendor.

Leading the opposition to Meglar is Grand Master Farrell. Young and untried, Farrell carries a secret that could hold the key to defeating Meglar—or it could destroy the world.

Farrell is joined by Nerti, queen of the unicorns, and Miceral, an immortal muchari warrior the Six have chosen as Farrell’s mate. As Farrell and his new allies make plans to counter Neldin’s evil, Meglar forces their hand when he invades a neighboring kingdom. Rushing to help their ally, Farrell and Miceral find themselves in the middle of the battle. Cut off from help, Farrell attempts an untried spell that will either turn the tide or cost him and Miceral their lives.

Author Bio

Andrew Q. Gordon wrote his first story back when yellow legal pads, ball point pens were common and a Smith Corona correctable typewriter was considered high tech. Adapting with technology, he now takes his MacBook somewhere quiet when he wants to write. Andrew’s imagination has helped him create works of high fantasy, paranormal thrills and touch of the futuristic.

To find out more about Andrew, follow him on his website or on Facebook.